flag carrier and increased its fleet to 12 747s.
Sales again grew to $234 million, and new des
tinations were added, including Buenos Aires,
Santiago and Singapore.
Further growth in 1996 was boosted with the
expansion of the network to London,
Amsterdam and the Brazilian cities of Manaus,
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The fleet again
grew, with the addition of two more 747s, to a
total of 14 aircraft, and sales reached $258 mil
lion. The airline is now ranked number one US
all-cargo airline and the third largest all-cargo
carrier in the world.
MANAGING THE FLEET
Polar's burgeoning growth was unexpectedly
checked in early 1996, well before the Asian
economic bubble burst. Three of the airline's
leased 747-100s that had been converted by
GATX-Airlog were effectively grounded when
the FAA issued an airworthiness directive
restricting payloads by almost half. Two of the
-100s are stored in Mobile, Alabama, while the
diird is in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Despite the recent FAA approval of GATX-
Airlog service bulletins that will allow the air
craft to return to service with improved
payloads, the future of the Polar aircraft remains
uncertain. "I see most of our 'newer' aircraft as
-200 series freighters," says West, who adds diat
"a bad feeling" still exists in the industry over
the grounding. The three -100s may therefore
be returned to Polaris/GE Capital Aviation
Services when the leases expire early next year.
The bulk of the existing operational fleet is
made up of 10 converted -lOOFs and three -
200Fs. Five of the -100s were originally con
verted under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet
conversion for Pan Am by Boeing, while the
balance were later "special freighter"
modifications performed on the same Wichita
conversion line. Of the three -200 series
freighters, two were originally delivered as ded
icated cargo aircraft to FlyingTigers, while the
third was built as a Combi for SAS before pass
ing through the hands of many operators before
flying for Polar. It was converted to full freighter
configuration late in 1997.
Despite the artificial cropping of its fleet,
Polar opted to stay with 747s rather than lease in,
or purchase, other types. When setting up the
operation, several other freighters had been con
sidered. "We looked at DC-8s, L-1011 TriStars
and even DC-10s," says West. "The L-1011 is
an interesting aircraft, though its range is not
superb. The trouble with the DC-10 is that it is
not a 'standard' aircraft type in terms of freight
pallets, and you have to discount with that. The
MD-11 is the same, but it's also expensive. The
747 is a standard. If you want to make it easy for
customers, you use 747s."
Despite Polar's obvious love affair with 747s,
it is not so enamoured with the -400F". Unlike
one of its major competitors, Atlas, it has no
plans to move up to the biggest freighter on the
market. "We are a low cost provider, and that's
the way it has got to be. The -400 does not fit
with our rotations. The -400 is much better on
non-stop routes like Los Angeles-Hong Kong,
but the problem with that is that then we'd
overfly Anchorage and lose out on our east coast
cargo collection point," he explains.
The fleet was bolstered by the arrival of the
third -200F on 26 March, from the Matrix
Aeronautica site in Tijuana, Mexico, where it
had been extensively overhauled after a mercury
spill while in service with its former operator,
SAT. The aircraft received a C check, Section 41
modification and engine pylon rework. Like
one of the other -200Fs, the former Southern
freighter is [lowered by the more powerful Pratt
& Whitney JT9D-7Q and is now operating
Polar's routes to China.
March also saw the first Polar aircraft enter
service fitted with Traffic Alert and Collision
Avoidance System II (TCASII). Polar says that
by the end of this year it will be the first major
US scheduled all-cargo operator to equip its
entire fleet with TCAS II systems. "Although
TCAS II is not mandatory for all-cargo aircraft
under current FAA regulations, we have taken
this step in the interests of our employees and a
higher level of safety," says Polar vice-president
of maintenance and engineering, Dick Scholl.
"Increased air traffic worldwide, particularly
over North America and Europe, as well as lim
ited navigation facilities in more remote parts
of the world, led us to conclude that we should
act to invest in this safety technology well in
advance of any new requirements."
CHANGING STRATEGY
Polar is introducing a series of tactical and
strategic moves to counter the "soft" Asian mar
ket. Tactical changes include shifting capacity
and relocating to other destinations. "We've
never had to do that before," says West. "We're
consolidating some of our flights. What was
formerly a Hong Kong only flight is now Hong
Kong and Tiipei, so we are picking up more ori
gin points."
Strategic changes include "holding off on
planned expansion routes to Jakarta and
Penang, while sticking to the opening of new
services to Manila and Tokyo. The Philippines
service is due to begin in April and will be joined
shortly after by theTokyo-Narita flight-Polar's
second Japanese service after its Kansai opera
tion. Japan continues to play a vital part in
Polar's strategy. The airline is only the third US
all-cargo carrier with scheduled services to
Japan, providing a profitable link for freight for
warders and agents, says Polar.
Using its Amsterdam cargo centre as a spring
board into Africa, Polar also plans to expand
into untapped territory on a route linking
Jeddah, Nairobi, Harare and Johannesburg. A
similar expansion is also planned for this year,
into South America where Caracas, Venezuela,
will be added. Polar is also paying close atten
tion to possible expansion in India.
Despite this positive growth in odier areas,
the Asian situation remains a worry to West.
"It's a tough business. Some 98-99% of the busi
ness is international, and a big chunk is Asian.
The movement of cargo is also unbelievably
down, and people will trade away fuel price
reductions - that's what bothers me," he adds.
Fuel prices are at a nine-year low, while cargo
traffic is estimated at 25-35% lower levels,
depending on market parameters. The aggres
sion of Asian carriers, which are desperate to fill
their cargo holds, also poses concern to West.
West is also cautious over rumours of an early
revival. "Every day we seem to be on the road to
recovery, but then you get news that kicks you.
Unfortunately, there are still many negative
signs and the stock market is a barometer of the
lack of confidence. We shall see what effect the
various austerity programmes, or diose that the
IMF [International Monetary Fund] are
putting in place, will actually have. In the mean
time, we're riding out the storm," he says. •
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 29 April - 5 May 1998 45